Johnson Is A Big Disappointment

October 9, 2005|By Bob Klapisch The Record

NEW YORK — The exchange between the manager and dejected pitcher was over in an instant, but there was no mistaking its iciness. Not a word was uttered between Joe Torre and Randy Johnson, no conciliatory pat on the back, not even fleeting eye contact.

That's how deeply the Big Unit wounded the Yankees in an 11-7 loss to the Angels on Friday night. The Big Unit was supposed to the Bronx' new hope for October, but he left in ruins in the fourth inning, trailing by five runs, sinking the Yankees into a crisis that could end their season on Sunday night.

How? Why? If the Yankees are drummed out of the playoffs by the Angels in four games, a dark replay of the 2002 division series against Anaheim, they won't forget Johnson's unforgivable performance. He allowed nine hits, including two home runs, and was so overmatched the sold-out crowd took to taunting him, chanting "Aaron Small" as the line drives kept coming.

How? Why? A flare-up of back pain? An attack of nerves? Johnson's bizarre history of failure in the division series (he's 0-7 with a 5.33 ERA in his past eight starts in the first round of the playoffs)?

Or did Johnson jinx himself this week by daring the fans to react to him? "If they want to boo me, then boo me or cheer me, but do something," the Unit said during a news conference Thursday. "Because I feed off that and I have pretty much my whole career."

Twenty four hours later, Johnson was walking off the mound, staring at the ground, pretending not to hear the insults. But the booing thundered down from the stands, covering him like a hard rain.

"Unfortunately I wasn't able to get it done," Johnson said. "I was counting on myself to throw a quality ballgame. I had no indication that I was going to pitch the way I did. They came out with a plan, guessed my location and were very aggressive. They made me pay."

It's true, the Yankees eventually recovered from Johnson's catastrophe. They took a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning and had it not been for Tom Gordon's own collapse, Johnson might've been forgiven. But there was no forgetting how heavily the Bombers were counting on him, especially after beating the Red Sox last Saturday to clinch the AL East.

Torre would later say, "when you set up your rotation and you have a guy like Randy, you have a great deal of confidence."

Now Johnson is back to square one, especially if the Yankees go down quietly in Game 4. What was so perplexing is that the Unit held the American League to a .167 average in September, earning praise from Derek Jeter, who said the left-hander's 5-0 record against the Red Sox was the single greatest difference between the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

Johnson's nightmare finally ended in the fourth inning. With the division series on the verge of slipping away, Torre was on his way to the mound. Johnson never moved, waiting for his manager. When the manager arrived there was only silence punctuating their now-separate agendas.

For the Yankees, there's work to be done in Game 4. For Johnson, there remains an unsolved mystery: how did the Angels turn him into October's richest batting practice pitcher?